Underwear-garment.



No. 884,815. PATENTED APR. 14, 1908.

0. A. GOULD. v UNDERWEAR GARMENT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 21. 1907.

CHARLES A. GOULD, OF ST; LOUIS, MISSOURI.

UNDERWEAR-GARMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented April 14, 1908.

Application filed August 21, 1907. Serial No. 389,536.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, CHARLES A. GOULD, a

citizen of the United States, residing at St.

Louis, Missouri, have invented a and useful Im rovement in Underwear-Garments, of whic the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formin part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a front view of an underwear garment constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of said garmerit; Fig. 3 is a rear view of said garment; Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the drawers and shirt for the urpose of illustrating more clearly the elastic gusseted opening in the seat of the drawers; and Fig. 5

1s a sectional view taken on'the line 55 of This invention relates to underwear gar- .ments' and particularly to that style in which the shirt and drawers are combined in a sinsuits.

gle garment that are commonly called union Heretofore, union suits worn for underwear arments have been made of elastic fabric w ich would stretch to accommodate the movements of the body of the wearer. o r

The main object of my invention is to pro-,

- vide a union underwear garment constructed principally from non-elastic fabrics such, for example, as muslin, linen, etc. so that the garment will be cool and comfortable.- To

this end I have deviseda union' underwear garment comprismga shirt and palr of drawers made of non-elastic fabrics and joined toso as to permit free movement of the body of i v the wearer without restraint gether by a band of elastic knitted material that extends completely around the body of the garment at approximately the waist-line Another important feature of my underwear garment is a horizontal opening in the seat of the garment that isprovided with 'a ussetof elastic knitted material and which iscomfplletel covered by a flap, as hereinafter lly e more 5o.

scribed. v Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form' of my" invention embodied in a gentleman sunderwear garment,

1 designates ashirt which may have, long sleeves, wing or quarter length. sleeves],- or no sleeves, as shown in the drawlngs.

'2 designates a certain new' pair of drawers which may be of ankle or knee len th, both the shirt and drawers being made a most entirely of nonelastic material such as muslin or linen. The drawers are provided with a non-elastic re inforcement or waistband 3 which may either This strip or band 4 of elastic knitted material extends completely around the body of the garment and is not crossed by the facings 11 that extend down the two sides of the front opening of the garment. The advan-' tage' of having the facmgs terminate at the pfdgps of the elastic band 4 will be obvious for ese non-elastic facings 1 1 crossed the elastic knitted band or strip 4 said band would lose its usefulness and be non-elastic in one of the two most important places of the galment where elasticity is necessary.

- The garments of this general style which have heretofore been used were provided with facings or reinforcing non-elastic stri s that extended on both sides of the opening in the front of the garment from the neck of the shirt portion to the crotch of the drawers and crossedthe elastic knitted 'connectin band so that there was not a perfect elastic connection between the shirt and drawers in the front of the waistline. g As previously stated, the non-elastic facings 11 of my improved garment do not extend across the elastic knitted band 4 so that there is a perfect elastic connection between itheshirt and drawers around the entire waistlne.

The seat of the drawers portion of the garinent is provided with a horizontal opening that is completelylclosed by a flap or curtain 6 formed by extensions of the rear sides of -'the leg sections 2, said extensions being joined together byan elastic knitted band or seam 7 so as to produce a wide flapwhich overlaps the portions 8 of the leg sections 2, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3,'said flap held in position by buttons or other i being) suita 1e devices locatedadjacent the elastic knitted waist-band 4. While I prefer to provide the flap 6 with an insert? formed of elastic knitted material, it will, of course, be understood that this insert could be omitted without departing from the s irit of my invention. The portions 8* of t 1e le sections 2 of the drawers which lie under t 1e flap 6 are joined together adjacent the elastic knitted waist-band 4 by means of an elastic knitted gusset 9, as shown clearly in Fig. 4, so as to permit the seat opening to expand and contract. This feature of providing a garment formed of non-elastic material with an elastic seat opening, I believe is broadly new and produces a garment which is a decided improvement upon those which have heretofore been in use. The elastic knitted gusset 9 in the back of the upper portion of the drawers is stitched to the upper edge of the drawers but is not fastened to the elastic I knitted waist-band 4, said gusset crossing said band 4 and being secured to the lower edge of the shirt, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the portion of the gusset which crosses but is not connected to the band 4, being desig nated by the reference numeral 10 in said figures. This strengthens the back of the arment and at the same time serves as a limit to the excessive strain and almost constant expansion of the elastic knitted waistband in the back of the arment. Said gusset 9 is preferably dou led but not necessarily so, and the extension 10 preferably conslsts of a sin le ply or thickness of material. Instead of providing the drawers with a single gusset 9, as herein shown, they could be provided with a plurality of gussets Without departing fromthe spirit of my inven- The drawers may be spliced by strips 5 of elastic knitted'material to impart a certain amount of elasticity to the drawers, and

gives plenty of freedom to the wearer'of the the shirt portion may also be provided with elastic knitted inserts or strips for the same purpose, but said elastic knitted inserts are not at all necessary and could be omitted if desired.

From the foregoing it will beseen that I have provided a one-piece underwear garment or union suit which is made of nonelastic fabrics, such as muslin, and which is so constructed that it will not'bind or draw the person wearing the garment, said garment eing preferably made of light-weight fabrics so thatit will be cool and comfortable. The complete and all-elastic knitted waistband 4 garment and the flap or drop-seat closing an elastic seat opening is a feature that has never before been used in union underwear garments made of non-elastic fabrics.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters 4 Patent is:

made of non-elastic material and connected together by a strip or band of elastic knitted material, a flap covering an opening in the seat of the drawers portion, and a gusset of elastic knitted material inserted in the drawers portion above the opening in the scat thereof so as to permit the seat opening to expand and contract; substantially as described.

2.-A one-piece underwear garment comprising a shirt portion and drawers portion made of a non-e astic materialffacing pieces of non-elastic material extending down each side of the front openin ofthe shirt portion and drawers portion, a band or strip of elastic knitted material secured to the lower edge of the shirt portion and to the 11 per edge of the drawers portion to connect t em together and extending com letely around the body of the garment, tie non-elastic facing pieces terminating res ectively above and below said elastic knitte waistband and the drawers portion being rovided with a horizontal seat opening, a ap or drop seat covering said opening, and one or more of non-elastic material extending down each side of the front openin of the shirt portion and drawers portion, a and or strip of elastic knitted material connecting the shirt portion and drawers portion to ether and extending completely around the ody of the garment, said non-elastic facing pieces terminating respectively above and below said elastic knittedwaistband or strip and the drawers'portion being flarovided with a horizontal seat opening, a ap or drop seat coverin said opening,'and one or more gussets of e astic knitted material inserted in the upper back sections of the drawers portion above and around the horizontal openin in the seat, said gusset or' gussets exten ing upwardly to the elastic knitted waistband or strip and passing across same and terminating at the lower edge of the shirt portion to which it is fastened, the portion of the gusset which crosses said elastic knitted strip or waistband being arranged on the inside of same and secured only at the upper and lower ed es of said waistband; substantially as described.

prising a shirt and drawers made of nonelastic material, a band or strlp of elastic knitted material connecting the shirt and drawers together, a flap covering an opening in the seat of the drawers; and a gnsset of In testirnony whereof I hereunto aflix my elastic knitted material inserted in the signature 1n the presence of two Witnesses, 10 grawers'adljacent the 'uppefred e thereof Ito this sixteenth day of August1907.

orm an eastic 0 enin 01' t e seat, t eI material whiehfor ihs sa d gusset extending I CHARLES GOULD upwardly across said strip or band a'nd being Witnesses: secured to the lower edge of the shirt sub- 7 WELLS L. CHURCH, stantially as described. GEO. R. LADSON. 

